Officers killed in charity ride accident

A traffic accident during a charity bicycle ride killed two police officers Tuesday afternoon and injured three others.\nThe charity, Concerns of Police Survivors, exists to help rebuild the lives of families of officers killed in the line of duty. The officers were riding to raise money for the families, said Indiana State Police Lt. Scott Beamon.\nBloomington Police Department officer Monica Zahasky was with the group but was not injured, said IU Police Department Lt. Jerry Minger. IUPD Lt. Greg Butler participated in the ride but returned to Bloomington Sunday, two days before the accident occurred.\nThe accident occurred on State Road 63, just south of Interstate 74 in Vermillion County at about 12:30 p.m. when a vehicle that had been hit by a semi-truck slammed into the group.\nOfficers planned to ride 1,100 miles during the scheduled 13-day ride. The event started at the Police Memorial in Indianapolis on Aug. 16 and was scheduled to end at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis next Monday.\nBeamon said the identities of those killed are being withheld, pending family notification.